Over 100 inquiries to IDA since Leave vote

More than half of the queries have come from financial services companies, with the balance from a range of sectors including manufacturing, life sciences, IT, medical devices and pharmaceuticals. Stock image

The IDA has had more than 100 Brexit-related inquiries from international investors in the wake of the Leave vote.

It is understood that some of those queries have already resulted in site visits.

In those cases, companies have sent either technical teams or senior executives to Dublin to discuss with either the IDA or Government departments what Ireland has to offer them.

It is thought the most advanced of those visits has the potential to deliver several hundred jobs.

More than half of the queries have come from financial services companies, with the balance from a range of sectors including manufacturing, life sciences, IT, medical devices and pharmaceuticals.

It is believed the bulk of the inquiries are from companies that already have a presence here and are looking at the possibility of expanding, while the remainder are from firms that have no presence in Ireland but are UK-based, and are looking at their options.

Meanwhile, the UK economy grew faster than expected in the three months after the Brexit vote, helped by strong growth in the services sector, official figures show.

The pound received a slight boost from the stronger-than-expected growth figures, which showed the UK economy rose by 0.5pc between July and September, quarter-on-quarter. That was softer than the 0.7pc rate seen between April and June, but better than forecast.

The data gives the first broad overview of how the British economy has fared since the June 23 vote. But a closer look at the data showed that the services sector helped drive the growth, with construction, industrial production and agriculture all suffering falls.

The London-based Centre for Economics and Business Research warned rising prices could squeeze consumers.